Shloka 12
Uttarā-vilāpaḥ and Kṛṣṇasya satya-vacanenābhi-mañyu-jasyābhijīvanam
Uttarā’s Lament and the Revival of Abhimanyu’s Son by Krishna’s Truth-Act
पुण्डरीकाक्ष पश्यावां बालेन हि विनाकृतौ । अभिमन्युं च मां चैव हतौ तुल्यं जनार्दन
puṇḍarīkākṣa paśyāvāṃ bālena hi vinākṛtau | abhimanyuṃ ca māṃ caiva hatau tulyaṃ janārdana ||
Vaiśampāyana nói: Nàng thưa: “Ôi Janārdana mắt như hoa sen, xin Người hãy nhìn: chúng con, cả hai, đã bị bỏ lại trong cảnh không con. Abhimanyu đã ngã xuống, và con cũng như đã chết—bị giết bởi nỗi sầu. Vậy là, ngang nhau, chúng con đều trở thành mồi cho Tử thần.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how death in war and death-by-grief can be ethically and existentially equivalent: even when a warrior attains heroic death, the survivors may be ‘killed’ by sorrow. It underscores compassion as a necessary complement to dharma, acknowledging the human cost of righteous conflict.
A lament is voiced to Kṛṣṇa (addressed as Puṇḍarīkākṣa/Janārdana): Abhimanyu has been slain, and the speaker declares herself equally destroyed by grief, emphasizing that both—fallen son and grieving mother—are alike overtaken by Death.